Slender, The Eight Pages
by woodmr13
Summary: Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. -Friedrich Nietzsche. How can you fight something you do not fully understand?
1. The Coming Storm

This world is a scary place. Terrible things take place, things like war and poverty, things that rock nations. But there are much more terrible things in this world, things that have remained unknown for centuries. Things that have no name, things that prey upon you without your knowing. There are many of these demons out there, but very few show their loathsome faces. There are few who know about them, and those who do are usually guaranteed either death, or a fate much worse. But is there a way to cheat fate? To cheat death? Maybe, maybe not. Everything you know, everything you've seen, is nothing but a distraction from reality. **Wake Up!**

Katherine Milens shot up in bed, a cold sweat drenching her, chilling her to the bone. She rapidly observed her room in a panic, looking for the ones that constantly haunted her dreams, except they weren't only nightmares. She had seen them herself, and they didn't play nice. They frequently terrorized her, both while asleep and awake. They were slowly but surely driving her insane. The only things keeping Kate going were her friends, Lauren and Carl, or as Carl liked to call himself, CR, which stood for Carl Ross. Kate remembered when they had found her, they were the only reason she was still alive. She could remember the entire event in full detail.

It was a warm, summer evening, and Kate was sitting in her living room talking to Carl on the phone. They were discussing what Carl had seen at the old farm. You see, Carl had lived all the way out in Washington, the evergreen state, since his twenty first birthday. He moved to the town of Oakside, which was a somewhat small town that resembled his old town, the place he had met Kate, Atlanta, Michigan. Kate still lived in Michigan, but wanted to move to Washington to be with her friend as soon as possible. Like any rural town, Oakside had its fair share of ghost stories. But the most recognized one was the story of the Matheson family. No one knew what happened at the homestead, but they knew it was terrible. Not even the police dared to enter the property. Carl had been the first person in over a decade to gaze upon the homestead, let alone enter it. The farm was in rough shape, and what Carl had seen there would haunt him for the rest of his life.

After about an hour of talking to Carl, Kate said goodbye and went back to tending to her sick mother's garden. Her mother, Beth, had been sick for about four years, and no one was able to understand why, not even her. The only thing they could do was tend to her and hope she got better. Kate had asked Carl to come to Atlanta for the weekend to help her take care of her mother, as Kate was currently juggling college, a job, and taking care of her mother. Sure, Lauren would happily help her out, but Lauren was always busy, she hardly had time for anything other than her hectic life.

Carl had accepted, and would be at the house by afternoon the next day. Kate's house wasn't exactly easy to find, as it was a further out into the wooded area. There was something unsettling about the woods though, and that was the fact that within those woods, was a supposedly haunted, abandoned park called Riverside, as a once beautiful river ran through the main area. As I said before, every town has its ghost stories, and Atlanta was no exception. Riverside Park had a bad reputation, almost as bad as the Matheson farm. The park was once a popular place for children and adults alike. It had an excellent layout, including campsites, playgrounds, visitor centers, and various other recreational activities to take part in. But that was a long time ago, before it happened. Campers started going missing, most were never found. The few that were found were in a pretty bad state. It took almost a month for the authorities to identify the mangled corpses. The park was shut down shortly after, but apparently the owners had been expanding it further into the woods with a series of dirt hiking trails for visitors. The project had come far, but had never been finished, and never would be. There were more than a few stories about what lurked within that place and what was responsible for the murders. Kate dismissed them as harmless stories, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy being so close to the place, because she knew that even with those stories being so ridiculous, there was chance that they contained a grain of truth.

It was 11:00pm and Kate was in the kitchen getting her mother some soup, as the poor woman couldn't eat much else these days, and what she did eat often came back up. Just as Kate finished warming up the soup, she began to feel uneasy. She felt like something was watching her, something twisted. She glanced out of the kitchen window into the woods. Kate didn't know how long she had watched those woods for, but now there was something other than the feeling of being watched, now there was paranoia, fear, and curiosity, a bad combination. She turned away from the window, and went back to preparing the soup. After making sure it was perfect for her mother, Kate took the bowl of soup, and brought it to her mother, who to her surprise, was asleep. She couldn't help but smile at the sight though, as her mom wasn't getting much sleep anymore, thanks to the deadly combination of insomnia and paranoia. Kate decided to leave the soup on her dresser, and she left the room.

The house was eerily silent, and the wind howling and making the trees rustle in the breeze didn't help Kate's growing paranoia. She found herself constantly looking out into the woods, as if to make sure nothing was creeping up on her home. About an hour had passed, and now Kate was extremely worried and paranoid. She had tried calling both Lauren and Carl to calm her nerves, but to her dismay, the phone lines were down. Although that didn't really surprise her, as the reception was terrible at her home during any type of harsh weather, she couldn't help but feel isolated, and she had a terrible feeling that it wasn't just a coincidence. In another attempt to calm her nerves, she tried putting her favorite movie in the DVD player. However, the only thing the television would display was static, and it emitted a garbled static noise. That's when the power started acting up. The lights started flickering and multiple devices throughout the household began making odd noises. Then a light bulb exploded, and the others went out, sending the house into darkness and Kate into a panic.

In a blind panic, Kate rushed to her room and slammed the door shut. It was only after locking it that she remembered her mother. The thought of going back out into that place gave her fear like she had never felt before, but she had to do it, for her mother. Kate slowly opened her door and peered into the hallway. It was pitch black, the only sound coming from the wind chimes and the trees being devastated by the howling wind. A feeling of uneasiness crept into her, but she continued to move on. Through the darkness she went, feeling her way through the house. Kate made her way to the kitchen, where she kept flashlights in a drawer. However, to Kate's dismay, none of the flashlights were in their right place. Now she was hopeless. The never ending darkness seemed to engulf her no matter where she turned. She began hearing noises around her, and they sounded like whispering, although she couldn't make out any of the words. They steadily grew louder and louder until it felt like her skull would cave in. Kate could do nothing but crouch on the floor, holding her head, and praying for it to stop. But then something changed. The voices stopped, and all was silent.

Kate laid on the floor, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Slowly, her breathing slowed and her headache faded. Then the lights returned to illuminate the house once more, all except for the broken one. Now, the only sound that could be heard was the wind. However, that wasn't enough for Kate, she wanted to know what had caused this, and she wanted to put a stop to it. That's when she remembered that place, the park. She knew exactly how to get there, and she had a feeling that the place was linked to what was plaguing her and her mother. The only problem was, Kate had no way to even see what she was doing. But then she remembered, there was a spare flashlight in her mom's room, just in case she needed it. Kate rushed to the room and thankfully, found both a fully charged flashlight and her mother the same way she had left her. Kate exited the room with the flashlight and was almost ready to go to the park. It was at that moment that she realized that even if she did find something, no one would believe her, as there was clearly something going on that was far more twisted than anyone would even want to believe. Then she remembered the camera.

It had been a gift from Lauren for Kate's 19th birthday, as Kate had taken an interest in photography. Fortunately, it was actually a camcorder that also took pictures, as Lauren had been unable to find anything else. Kate took the camera and turned it on. Luckily, it was fully charged and already had an empty tape in it. Without delay, Kate said a silent goodbye to her mother, also leaving a note saying she was going out for a while, and put on her favorite white sweatshirt. She exited the house and stepped into the windswept night. She locked the door behind her and got into her car. She turned it on and began the drive to Riverside. The night was eerie, there were no cars on the road, no signs of civilization for five more miles, but she wouldn't need to go that far. The closer she got the more the wind howled. The trees rustled and crackled in the wind. Only another mile. Then, Kate was at the driveway to the park, the trees and foliage growing over it consuming the last of the moonlight. She exited her car, switched her flashlight on and began walking. The park had been appearing in her dreams for a while now, or should I say, nightmares. In her dreams, she would walk to the park, only to find it shrouded with darkness, and echoing with disembodied whispers. She kept walking, seeing the familiar landmarks. A few minutes passed, and the main area of the park was in sight. The fog had already set in. It was fairly light, but still unnerving. The wind blew once more, and Kate swore that she heard a voice say; **"Welcome Home Kate"**.


	2. Into The Darkness

Kate stood in place, quivering with fear. She knew that what she had heard was real, but she also knew that she had to follow through with her plan if she hoped to end this. She forced herself to keep walking, and because of that, she found herself gazing upon the ruins of a once beautiful place. The buildings were all falling apart and rotting away as well as the playground. The campsites weren't as bad, but then again, they were just an area with a fire pit. The once beautiful river that had flown through the park was now choked with weeds and was a vile green color. Kate noticed all of this, and it didn't exactly help her nerves. But she didn't notice the two different symbols, just barely visible, scratched into the trees and buildings. A circle with an ex through it, and two intersecting eyes in the shape of a cross. Not that these would have helped Kate anyway. Even if she had seen them and been smart enough to leave while she still could, it was too late. HE had already set HIS sights on her.

Kate knew it was a bad idea, but she had no choice. There was nothing of use to her within the park itself, so she'd have to explore the undeveloped trails deep within the woods. Kate found them rather easily, it was pretty hard to miss the massive chain link fence surrounding an equally massive wooded area. The dirt trail going into it was rather wide, wide enough that cars could get through without a problem, even though that was never the intent. The fence had a gait where the trail began, and the lock was rusted, making it easy for Kate to break in. Something unexpected happened though. When Kate walked through the gate, it slammed shut behind her. Kate jumped in surprise. She almost tried to open the gate but luckily she heard the crackle of electricity before touching it. This left her baffled. How could a place be abandoned for so many years and still have electricity? Then she heard a sinister laugh echo through the woods. Kate waved her flashlight around the woods rapidly, trying to find the one responsible for the eerie laughter. There was no one, or so she thought. She knew that there was now only one thing to do, and that was follow the trail, to hopefully find answers, and a way out. Kate remembered her camera. She turned it on, pointed it in front of her, and began recording, while holding the flashlight in her other hand. As she began walking, she failed to notice the eight figures lurking in the shadows, watching her. The one responsible for the laughter stood at the center of them all, right beside his master, with a demented smile plastered on his face. He in particular was interested in Kate. She showed bravery that he had not seen in a very long time. So he was content with sitting back and watching, observing. For now.

The woods were dark and eerie. The only sounds coming from the wind rustling the trees, the occasional chirps of a cricket, and the sound of Kate walking along the dirt path. Her only source of light was her flashlight, as the moon was hidden behind the clouds. The path went straight for about five minutes before branching off into two different directions. Kate didn't like the look of it, but she wanted to keep moving so without much thought, she chose the path headed to the right. This path stayed the same for about the same amount of time that the original had, before splitting into two different directions once more. However, the other path would have to wait, because even with her paranoia, Kate had managed to stay calm and come up with a plan. She had guessed that the trail was in the shape of a circle, and possibly a visitor center or something like that at the center, which is where the most recent path would have led to. She may have been thinking too much as she walked though, because she almost missed a rather large, red silo that was surrounded by trees slightly off of the trail. The only reason she noticed it is because she had looked up into the sky and just barely seen its top protruding from above the trees. Out of curiosity, Kate decided to check it out, because now she was wondering what exactly Riverside Management had been building out here. Upon inspection, it appeared that the silo was the first part of a miniature petting zoo to be constructed. Anything else that had been built near it was now just a decaying mess. Apparently the petting zoo had been sort of a miniature attraction for passing hikers. Just as Kate was about to leave, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A yellowed sheet of notebook paper attached to the side of the silo with writing on it that she couldn't quite make out from where she was. She moved closer. Now she could see what was written on the paper. **"Don't Look Or It Takes You"**. It also had a drawing of a particularly tall stick figure in the bottom right corner. Confused by this, Kate decided to take the paper with her to look it over later. Unfortunately for Kate, she didn't know what taking it would trigger, because as soon as the page was in her pocket, the crickets stopped chirping, and were replaced by a new sound.

A faint sound echoed through though the woods. The sound of a drumbeat, repeated over and over, never stopping. Now Kate was beyond scared, whatever was happening wasn't normal. She also felt a slight drop in temperature. Thankful for the sweatshirt she was wearing, she returned to the path and continued onward, wanting to get as far away from the silo as possible, as she knew that something was coming, and it would be there soon. What she didn't realize, is that it was already there, watching her every move. She also failed to notice the faint voice telling her one thing; **"One of Eight"**.

Kate continued onward, following the path and recording everything that happened. She knew she wasn't imagining things, because the camera was picking up the sounds too, and every now and then, there'd be a slight audio or video distortion, usually happening together. This frustrated Kate because up until now, the camera had operated perfectly. Luckily, the distortions were nothing more than a slight inconvenience, as almost immediately after they happened, the camera would go back to normal. Finally, after about ten more minutes of walking, Kate came across another odd landmark. Three large boulders just to the right of the path, one of them with another page attached to it. Kate took the page and looked it over. It read; **"Always Watches, No Eyes"**. It also had a drawing of a circle, which Kate assumed was supposed to represent a face, but where its eyes should have been, there were exes. As for other facial features, there were none. Kate began to feel sick. The combination of fatigue, paranoia, and the endless drumbeats were really taking a toll on her. She stuck the page in her pocket, and just as she was about to leave, she heard something. This time, the voice was heard by Kate. She knew from the chilling, disturbed tone of it, that it was coming from the one responsible for the chilling laugh from earlier. As for what it said, it's pretty obvious. **"Two of Eight"**. This chilled Kate to the bone, because now she knew that she was being watched, and it appeared that there were multiple entities responsible. Then the drumbeats got louder and faster and the fog became thicker. Kate could see that the main path kept going straight, but there was another path headed towards the center of the trail. Deciding to get it over with, Kate took a deep breath and headed in that direction, oblivious to the true danger plaguing her.


	3. Knots Untie

The path went on further than Kate had thought. It was a minor inconvenience but it provided her with some time to think. Why was she doing this? For her mother, and herself. Were the things hunting her responsible for her mother's' condition? Most likely. Then there was the question that she could not answer, what exactly was she up against? She had heard the whispers, seen the shadows lurking within the trees. Every now and then she would see something out of the corner of her eye. But she never got a good look at it, because it was gone before she could turn around. To make matters worse, her flashlight was starting to dim, and her camera had lost a quarter of its battery power, and she hadn't managed to capture anything important on it other than the two pages and minor distortions. The moon was high in the sky, and the fog was getting thicker. Feeling as if the path was a waste of time, Kate was just about to turn around, but then she saw a structure in the distance behind a field of what appeared to be oil tanks.

The large clearing appeared to be at the center of the woods. The oil tanks were rusted and empty but Kate couldn't tell much about the building, as it was shrouded in darkness. Kate also found it strange that the entire clearing was dirt like the rest of the trails, as it was clearly meant for a different use. She simply shrugged it off as poor design choice and continued onward. When Kate got to the oil tanks she discovered that they were more rusted and corroded than she had originally thought. There were ten tanks in total, and the first four that she came to were positioned in a way that they were vertical to the building ahead. The next two were horizontal to all of the other tanks but still allowed a small path through them. The last four were on the other side of the two horizontal tanks, and they were vertical to the building like the first four. Kate made her way through tanks, checking for pages while doing so. But for the first time, there was nothing. Not even a scrap of paper, indicating that a page had once been there. She even checked under the tanks, but still found nothing. However, there was something there, but it wasn't what Kate was looking for. It was lurking in the shadows, watching Kate, waiting for her to make the next move.

The oil tanks had been a waste of time, and Kate knew it, but she didn't let it bother her too much and continued onward. The moon was high in the sky, the fog was even more dense, and the drumbeats continued. Kate finally reached the building and realized that it was a bathroom pavilion. It was rather large and made of concrete, and the roof was some kind of green sheet metal. She noticed that the door was rusted off and laying on the ground, and that there was a long hallway going straight that had an exit at the end of it, with presumably another rusted door beside it. Against her better judgement, Kate entered the building.

The building turned out to be a combination of a bathroom and showers. There were two other hallways, one going to the left, and one going to the right. The hallway to the left lead to the bathrooms, and the hallway to the right lead to the showers. Thinking they would be disgusting, Kate decided to get the bathrooms over with first. The hallway split into another two paths, one for the men, and another for the women. To Kate's surprise, they were mostly in good condition. The only odd things about the bathrooms were smashed mirrors and some odd burn marks on the floor, but the burns were throughout the entire building.

Kate checked the showers next, and surprisingly they were in good condition too. Despite the good condition of the building, there were no pages to be found, that is until Kate went back to the bathrooms to check a second time. There she found a page jammed inside the frame of one of the smashed mirrors. It read; **"Leave Me Alone"**. Now she was even more unnerved, since it seemed that based on the note, she wasn't the first to be in this situation. She took the page and began to exit the building, but unfortunately for Kate, she failed to notice the faded bloodstains on the walls.

Kate had almost exited the building but not before the drumbeats stopped. Kate barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before a new and even more unnerving noise started. To Kate, it sounded like a lawnmower, but a heavily distorted and low pitched one that eerily repeated just like the drumbeats. Kate could feel the temperature dropping, see the fog thickening. She had almost reached the door to the field with the oil tanks, but a quick camera distortion stopped her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a tall silhouette in the distance. This caused Kate to panic, and she began running back down the hall to the other exit.

She had just reached the door before it happened. The tall figure that had been stalking Kate appeared right in front of her, causing the camera to emit a sound like thunder and begin distorting heavily. Kate was paralyzed with fear, she couldn't believe what she was looking at. It was a tall man that towered over her, she couldn't tell just how tall it was, but it clearly wasn't human. It was dressed for a funeral, wearing a black suit, black dress pants, and black shoes. It was also wearing a white shirt under its suit, and it had a black tie tucked into its suit. Its skin was deathly pale and clammy. Its arms were unnaturally long, nearly touching its knees, and its hands had long, skeletal fingers. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part, was its face, except there was no face. No hair, no eyes, no ears. No facial features of any kind.

Kate could do nothing but stare at the ghastly creature. She knew that she should run, but couldn't force her legs to move. She was becoming lightheaded, and her ears were ringing. Her flashlight was flickering and the camera was flashing with video distortions as well as emitting audio distortions. Kate remained unable to move, until she saw multiple slim, black tentacles erupt from the monster's back and begin snaking towards her. Kate finally came to her senses when her camera began to be overcome with static and emit a screeching sound. She let out a scream and ran the other way, back through the building, through the oil tanks, and back onto the original trail.

Her lungs were aching, so were her legs, but that didn't stop Kate from continuing down the trail as fast as she could. She dared not look behind her, as she was only now being relieved of the nausea that had overcome her when gazing upon that monster. Her camera had finally gone back to normal as well. Kate had never run this fast, and for this long in her entire life, simply because there had never been the need to. She silently thanked her mother for making her be involved in sports before her sickness had taken over, as without them, she probably would have collapsed by now.

Kate knew that she couldn't keep running like this and that if she didn't stop soon, she'd collapse from exhaustion. Fortunately, the beam from her flashlight fell upon a brick wall in another small, dirt clearing to the right that was rather close to the main path. Actually, it was two, except they were shaped like a plus. Kate bolted over to it, and went around to the other side so that if the monster was chasing her, it would at least have to look harder. She slumped against the brick wall, turned her flashlight off, and sat there for a few minutes, breathing heavily.

Kate knew that this thing was responsible for everything that had happened to her and her mother. She had known that as soon as she had seen that monster. She knew it was extremely dangerous, but couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was. **"It has many names, The Operator, The Administrator, but one stands out more than the others. The Slenderman"**. Kate looked around wildly, looking for the voice that had seemingly read her mind, and answered her question. **"Don't bother looking, you won't find anything. And don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I hate HIM too"**. Kate could tell by his voice that the one speaking to her was a man, and she didn't fully trust him, but the fact that he hadn't tried to kill her immediately helped, but only slightly. The fact that he seemingly had a grudge against this creature helped as well.

**"I'm not a threat, really. To prove it, I'll tell you the story behind those pages you're carrying, but first, look to the left"**. Kate did as she was instructed and looked to her left, and to her surprise, saw a page attached to the brick wall. She stood up and took it, looking it over in the process. All it had on it were drawings of trees and a drawing of the monster that was stalking her. **"That's half of the pages you need to collect to get out of here. Do you trust me now"?** "Somewhat", Kate responded. She heard the being chuckle before resuming talking. **"You need to collect all eight of those if you want to escape, The Administrator has used his abilities to keep the gate locked and electric until every page has been claimed. It's all part of HIS sick game, and winning is your only chance to get out of here alive. It won't be easy, but you have what it takes. That's the only reason why HE hasn't killed you yet. This kind of challenge doesn't come around often"**.

It took a minute for Kate to process everything that the man had just said, but it made a lot of sense. "Thank you, but remind me, why exactly are you helping me", she said to him. **"Because I don't want him to do to you what he did to me, and all of the others. I used to be like you Kate, until he got a hold of me, that's what happened to all of us, and I'm not going to let it happen to you too"**. Kate was touched. She never would have expected a complete stranger to help her like this. She only had one thing left to ask him. "Who are you"? There was a short pause before he answered. **"I had a normal name before all of this, but that's not me anymore. I'm known by another name now. Firebrand"**.


	4. Plagued

There was much to do. This "Firebrand" character had given Kate a lot to think about. Who had he been before all of this happened to him? What was he capable of? Would he be harmed for helping her? Would the same thing that happened to him happen to her if she was caught? Then there was the Slenderman. Thanks to Firebrand, Kate now understood its motives. Her misery was all just a part of its game, so was her mother's. She was sickened by this, and hatred grew within her. She was now more determined than ever to escape, and to repay Firebrand. He had possibly risked his life just to give her that information, something that helped her so significantly. He believed in her, and she wasn't about to let him down. It was the least she could do.

It was early in the morning now, around 2:30am. Kate was getting tired but wasn't about to give up. Her flashlight was dim now, just barely illuminating the silhouettes of the trees ahead of her. The battery life on her camera was getting dangerously low, and the image on it was beginning to darken. The lowly drone from before was still constant, unnerving Kate slightly, but she was beginning to get used to it. Everything seemed to be going fine until Kate felt the all too familiar feeling of being watched. She didn't even have to turn around to know what was going on, and instead began running down the trail.

It wouldn't go away, the feeling of being watched. It followed Kate as she ran, relentlessly toying with her, breaking her mind. Firebrands' words were still fresh in her mind, and she knew what she had to do, but they didn't do much to clear her head. Kate was so intent on running that she nearly missed her next landmark. She noticed the small trail branching to the left just before passing it, and without hesitation started down it. The feeling of dread had lifted slightly so Kate slowed her pace to a light jog. This trail in particular was horribly overgrown. Ferns and twigs littered it, making it nearly invisible from the main trail. Trees were plentiful and branches stretched high above the trail, obscuring the night sky. Kate was now more thankful than ever for her flashlight due to how dark it was thanks to the trees.

Eventually her pace slowed to a mild walk, this new path didn't seem to go on very far, as she could make out a small clearing just ahead. Upon her arrival, she saw what appeared to be multiple logs standing vertically in the clearing. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that they were actually trees, but had been stripped of their branches, leaves, and bark. Kate's best guess was that the construction workers had been clearing a new area for visitors before the park was abandoned. They were probably harvesting the trees so that they wouldn't go to waste, but why they left what was left standing was beyond her.

It wasn't too hard to find the page. After all, it was just attached to a bare tree, and there weren't enough of those to make it difficult. That was five out of eight, only three to go. This one in particular simply read; **"Help Me"**. When she took it the lowly drone from before was replaced with a different sound. Unlike the last two ambiances, this one seemed semi-normal. It was just the wind, but it was unnatural. It was loud, and didn't stop. It was blowing through the trees, making them creak and crack. The camera began distorting again and Kate noticed the Slenderman watching her from within the cover of the trees. Kate took that as her cue to leave and began running back the way she had come from.

**"Good going Kate, but now you've really pissed HIM off"**. "Thanks for the reassurance Firebrand", mumbled Kate while jogging down her original path. **"Sorry, I'm not known for my people skills"**. Despite the circumstances, Kate couldn't help but laugh at this. **"Just stick to the plan and you'll probably be fine". I can't talk for long, The Administrator is aware of my interference and isn't happy about it, and neither is the rest of The Collective"**. "Wait, what is the Collective", she asked him. **"The Collective is a group of beings like me, otherwise known as proxies. A few of us are good, but the rest are twisted and insane like The Administrator. HE gives us our power in exchange for our freedom, although it's not much of a choice. I have to go now, I have other issues to attend to. Good luck Kate".**

The knowledge that there was an entire organization that served the Slenderman was horrifying to Kate. How many of them were there? How many of them were good, like Firebrand? Just how far did the Slenderman's influence stretch? None of these questions could be answered, and that terrified her. The trail went on further and further until she came across a rather odd structure. It was a circular concrete tunnel going through a rather large hill in the middle of the path. The trail went through the tunnel, as it was much easier to go through the tunnel than go over that hill. It didn't look like it went too far, and Kate thought she saw her flashlight illuminate a page towards the end of it.

Other than a few cracks here and there, the tunnel was in surprisingly good condition. There was a bit of moss growing on the walls of it, but that was the worst of it. Kate couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as she walked through the dark tunnel. There was limited visibility in there, and no help from the moonlight. Towards the end of the tunnel, Kate discovered that she really had seen a page. This one was more ominous. **"Can't Run"** was written on it and whoever had written it had scribbled all over the bottom of it. That was six.

Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. Not even bothering to look, Kate began sprinting towards the exit, but her escape route was soon blocked by the Slenderman. HE appeared right in front of her, causing her to collide with him, which felt like running into a brick wall. Dazed and laying on the ground, with the flashlight illuminating the monster in front of her and the screeching of her camera ringing in her ears, Kate could just barely make out the sight of the tentacles snaking towards her. Kate was more lightheaded than ever, and could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness.

Just before the tentacles reached her, she saw the figures of two men appear in front of her. One was covered in scars, had long hair, and appeared to be facing down the Slenderman. The other appeared to be a black silhouette with glowing pindot eyes and a toothy smile. The grinning one grabbed her arm just as she went unconscious and the three of them disappeared together.


	5. Penultimate

The warm air felt nice around her, a lot more soothing than the chill of the forest. The moon was bright here, and she could hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore in the distance. The boardwalk was to the right of their camp, no one on it due to the time of day. Kate sat on a log that she was using as a bench, Firebrand and his ally, known as Mr. Scars, sat in front of her, on the other side of the campfire they had built. They had saved her from certain death, but she couldn't possibly repay them for the risk they had taken, so they sat in silence. They were a long ways from the park. Firebrand had brought them to Florida, but Kate didn't know where exactly she was at. All she knew was that she was safe, for now.

Firebrand was no longer in the form of a silhouette, he now looked like a normal person, except he was burned horribly, nearly beyond recognition, partially explaining his name, just as the scars covering Mr. Scars' body explained his. The three of them had talked for a while, and Kate had finally managed to get the two of them to tell her their original names. Firebrand used to be Noah Maxwell, and Mr. Scars was named Milo Asher. The two of them also happened to be cousins. They wouldn't tell her much other than that, as they didn't want her being any more involved in this situation than she already was. But Kate had heard them whispering to each other about someone called The Observer, and someone called HABIT.

After a while, the fire had been put out, and the three of them were walking down the boardwalk. Kate had a mild concussion and a broken nose from slamming into the Slenderman, but Firebrand had done what he could by setting her nose and Mr. Scars had given her some medication for her headache. She knew it probably wasn't the best idea to accept medicine from strangers, but she trusted them, and they had saved her life.

Firebrand told Kate that she would have to go back to the park and finish the "game", otherwise she would suffer a fate worse than death, courtesy of the Slenderman. Firebrand grabbed her arm again and her vision went black, but only for a moment. The next thing she knew, she was back in the tunnel, right where she had been knocked out. Kate felt the familiar chill of the forest and the same ambience from before began once more. **"Good luck"**, she heard Firebrand say. Kate looked back to thank him but he was gone. Kate was alone, again.

Immediately Kate realized that something was wrong. It was pitch black in the tunnel and she didn't have her flashlight or her camera. Fearing for the worst, Kate reached into her sweatshirt pocket, but was relieved when she felt that the pages were still there. Firebrand and Mr. Scars hadn't taken her camera or flashlight, so she knew that they were laying around the tunnel somewhere. Kate began looking around, and almost immediately kicked her flashlight. She picked it up and turned it on, its dim beam of light landing on her camera. Kate picked up her camera and discovered that it had been shut off. Fearing that her battery was dead, she tried turning the camera on. Luckily, it had some battery left, but not much. Less than a quarter to be exact. She also looked over her footage to make sure it was still there. It was. Kate went back to recording and exited the tunnel.

The first thing that she noticed was that the fog was actually less thick than before, making it easier to see. The second thing she noticed was that beams of sunlight were peeking over the trees like a beacon of hope. Kate was guessing that it was early morning now, probably around 7:00. More determined than ever to end this, she began running down the trail, towards the next landmark. It turned out to be a blue gasoline truck, but the tank on it was obviously empty. She looked it over for pages, but found nothing.

Slightly disappointed, Kate began running down the trail again. She was well aware of the Slenderman following close behind her, as her camera was distorting on a regular basis, but she wasn't going to let it bother her. The sun was getting higher, illuminating the trail even more. After a while of running, Kate slowed her pace to a light jog. She saw a trail to her left but realized that it led to the bathroom complex from before. She kept moving and eventually came across a red truck parked next to a small, blue and yellow building. The truck didn't actually have a page on it, but the building had a page stuck to a boarded up window. This page had the word "No" written all over it and drawing of the Slenderman in the middle of it. That was seven, only one left.

Kate realized this immediately and instantly knew that things were about to get serious. No sooner had she thought this than a new noise began. Kate had no explanation for this one. It could only be described as some kind of creepy audio distortion playing on an endless loop, except it wasn't coming from her camera. This noise was different than the others too because instead of replacing the wind from the previous two pages, it joined with it to create an even more unsettling ambience. Kate barely had time to think before the Slenderman appeared right in front of her. This time, Kate immediately ran instead of allowing the Slenderman to hurt her again.

Kate sprinted as fast as she could, dodging the Slenderman consistently, as it kept appearing in front of her, eagerly waiting for her to slip up and run right into its grasp. The frequent dodging and changing direction made Kate's progress slower, but she was still getting close to the final landmark. She could see it. It was a dead tree in the middle of the path, with deformed branches pointed outwards and towards the sky. She was so close, but the Slenderman was relentless. Kate could see the page. She finally gave in and just sprinted towards it, nearly colliding with the tree in the process. She snatched the eighth and final page off of the tree and collapsed on the ground, with the page clutched in her fist. She had won.

Kate had found the gate open when she got to it. She didn't know what she had expected, but it wasn't to be let off the hook this easily. Her camera and flashlight had died shortly after exiting the trail, but it didn't matter. She had all of the evidence she needed. Maybe it was finally over. Maybe Kate and her mother could finally live normally again. Kate had only given the page a quick glance, seeing that it only said **"Follows"** and had a drawing of the Slenderman standing by a tree on it.

Kate walked back through the park, not even needing her flashlight since the sun had come up. She was happy to be free, although one thing bothered her. She could have sworn that she'd heard a demonic voice say; **"I have plans for you, Kate"**.

The Slenderman stood with the rest of the Collective, watching Kate leave the park. The Observer stood beside his master once again, but instead of smiling insanely like before, he was visibly angry. The two of them were equally annoyed that their prey had escaped. They were furious at Firebrand and Mr. Scars for intervening, but the two of them knew it, and knew that they would be punished horribly for their actions. But they knew that it had been worth it, and they weren't the only supernatural creatures that hated the Slenderman and the Collective.

Kate had finally reached her car and thrown her things onto the passenger seat, including the pages. She started her car and pulled out of the driveway, driving away from that godforsaken place. She hoped that Firebrand and Mr. Scars would be okay, especially since she knew that the Slenderman and the Collective most likely weren't happy with them. As she was driving down the road, Kate began to realize just how exhausted she was. She fought to stay awake, but to no avail. She began to doze off and her car veered off of the road and smashed into a tree, flipping the car over and wounding Kate badly.

She laid there, broken, battered, and nearly unconscious. She could clearly feel that she had broken some bones. She could smell gasoline, and knew that her car would be in flames shortly, but couldn't force herself to move. Suddenly, her door was opened and she felt someone grab her and pull her out of the car and drag her away from it. Then she heard a man's voice, someone that she hadn't heard before.

"You're certainly lucky that I got to you before stick-in-the-mud did". Then she heard him laugh. Kate attempted to open her eyes but couldn't. "Don't expect this to be a regular thing, the only reason I saved your sorry ass was because Firebrand seems to think that you're worth the effort". Kate forced her eyes open and looked at her rescuer.

He had long hair and had an impish smile on his face. She also noticed that he was covered in blood, both fresh and dry, and had a knife strapped to his belt. He was also wearing a hat, and his eyes appeared to be tinted purple. Just before Kate slipped into unconsciousness she heard him say; "Hi, I'm HABIT".


	6. Genesis

The sound of the rain hitting the roof was soothing to Kate. She sat on her bed, drawing strange, cryptic pictures. Jumping at the random cracks of thunder. She was unable to go back to sleep after the unexpected flashback, so she had decided to draw. It was a habit that had formed after dealing with the creatures for a while. It had gotten worse recently. She had plastered the walls of her room with the drawings. It seemed that not even moving to Washington could help her now. Her mother was dead. She'd died four years ago, one year after the incident in the park.

Kate couldn't remember much after the crash. She remembered HABIT talking to her, and then waking up in the hospital, with Lauren and Carl by her side. Apparently Carl had arrived at her house hours ago, had seen Kate's mom alone in bed, and went looking for Kate, realizing something was wrong. He'd found her wrecked car lying in a ditch, with Kate several feet away from it. He'd found her unconscious, but surprisingly with most of her wounds bandaged. After calling an ambulance, Carl went and inspected her car.

It was a miracle that the thing hadn't exploded. It had clearly been on fire at some point. Carl had found a broken flashlight in the passenger seat, as well as a melted camcorder. He managed to pry open the camcorder, but the tape was nowhere to be found. There were also what appeared to be the ashes of paper in the seat, but Carl didn't see any importance in that. Having found nothing useful in the car, and hearing the sirens of an ambulance in the distance, Carl exited the vehicle, but noticed something on the ground.

It was a tape with a small piece of paper under it. It was almost certainly the tape from Kate's camcorder, but it didn't appear to have any fire damage. Carl was more intrigued by the note, which read; **"Keep it secret, keep it safe. You can thank me later". ~F**. Carl had absolutely no idea who this "F" was, but he guessed that the person knew something about what had happened and what was on that tape. Carl decided to take the advice, and put the tape and the note in his pocket just before the ambulance finally showed up.

Kate remembered waking up in that hospital, wondering if it had all been a bad dream. Hoping desperately that it had been, Kate decided not to mention anything about what had happened. Apparently Carl had called Lauren after getting to the hospital, and she had agreed to come over to help take care of Kate's mom while she was in the hospital. Up until then, Kate had nearly forgotten about Carl's experience on the Matheson Farm. When she remembered, she decided to tell him everything. She told him about the park, the pages, the Slenderman, Firebrand, Mr. Scars, HABIT, and everything else. She didn't tell Lauren though. She didn't want her being involved in the nightmare.

Kate remembered when her doctors had found out about her "hallucinations". They'd all but forced her to go to a mental hospital called North Cross. She'd hate to admit it, but it did help a little. That didn't make it any less annoying though. Kate knew about the note and the tape that Carl had found. He'd given it back to her once she was okay to come home, and she'd locked it in a safe to keep it hidden shortly after.

The storm had gotten worse. It was late in the night, the only light coming from Kate's new camcorder and the occasional lightning. She could hear the wind chimes and the trees rustling. The wind was howling. Kate had her window open to feel the cool night air. The storm had knocked out her electricity a while ago.

Suddenly, lightning flashed across the sky and Kate froze, feeling the all too familiar chill creep up her spine. She turned towards the camera with a fearful look on her face and whispered; "He's here".


End file.
